As Boeing, its airline customers and federal safety regulators struggled over the past two months to solve problems with the new 787 Dreamliner’s fire-plagued batteries, one player has been strangely silent: Congress.

At the same time the government certified Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners as safe, federal rules barred the type of batteries used to power the airliner’s electrical systems from being carried as cargo on passenger planes because of the fire risk.

Federal regulators say they are ordering a comprehensive review of the critical systems of Boeing’s 787s, the aircraft maker’s newest and most technologically advanced plane, after a fire and a fuel leak earlier this week.